Disclosure
by Beregond5
Summary: G1. Red Alert had kept his secret safe for millions of years... until now.


_A/n:__ The plot was a lot more original when I first wrote this piece. Now I'm afraid everyone will see the twist a mile away. And please pay no attention to my miserable attempt at Inferno's accent. ^_^;_

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"I'm telling ya, Red, it's gonna be fun!" Inferno insisted, still following Red Alert down the corridors of the Ark. "All ya have to do is ask Prime fer a few hours off."

"Forget it, Inferno," Red Alert replied for what appeared to be the umpteenth time in the last hour. "I have to go to Ratchet for my monthly medical check-up."

"Ya can always do that tomorrow!" Inferno said exasperatedly. "Besides, how different do ya expect yer readings to be since yer last check-up?"

"Need I remind you what happened six months ago?" Red Alert asked, eyeing his friend closely.

"Ya got hit by one of Rumble's missiles! That would have messed up _anyone's _logic circuits!"

Red Alert stopped on his tracks momentarily, cocking his head on the side in thought. "True… Still, I'm not taking any chances," he said with finality, and he resumed his walking.

Inferno followed closely behind, regarding the smaller mech suspiciously. "That is why ya also carry a copy of yer medical record with ya, I suppose," he noted, pointing at the datapad in Red Alert's hands.

"Precisely," Red Alert said as though there was nothing wrong with that statement. "There are too many of us and Ratchet is one medic; it's easy enough for him to misplace any files."

"Even though he hasn't misplaced even one in the last eight million years he's been an Autobot medic," Inferno muttered under his breath.

"What was that?" Red Alert asked, turning to the fire truck.

But Inferno never got the chance to answer, because it was then that the ground started shaking violently. At the next moment, Swoop appeared around the corner, running as fast as his feet could carry him.

Unfortunately, he didn't see Inferno and Red Alert until it was too late. Before any of them could react, all three mechs found themselves in a pile on the floor.

"Uh oh…" Swoop said, realising his mistake. He quickly got back on his feet and offered his hand to help Inferno and Red Alert up. "Me Swoop sorry. Me Swoop didn't see you."

"I wouldn't have guessed," Red Alert replied dryly and dusted himself clean. Fortunately, the impact didn't leave any dents on his plating. "So is there a reason for this kind of rush?"

Swoop grinned broadly. "Me Swoop play tag!"

"Tag?" Inferno echoed in disbelief. "With who?"

"Not fair, Swoop!" another mech's voice sounded from a distance. "We agreed we wouldn't go inside the Ark!"

Swoop's eyes widened as the pteranodon clearly didn't expect to be caught red-handed in his cheating. "Me Swoop got to go."

And with that he ran off, just when Bumblebee turned around the corner at full speed.

"Oh, hey guys," the yellow minibot said to Red Alert and Inferno, only to call at Swoop in mock indignation. "If you think you're gonna get away that easily, you've got another thing coming!"

"Me Swoop say him Bumblebee must catch Swoop first!" the pteranodon replied cheekily, and he disappeared through another corridor.

"Well, him Bumblebee's got a few tricks up his arm plating too!" At the next instant, Bumblebee had transformed and sped after Swoop, leaving Inferno and Red Alert alone once more.

Red Alert shook his head in disapproval. "Those two are bound to do some sort of damage."

"Come on, Red. They're only having a lil' fun on their day off," Inferno argued. "Precisely what ya should be doing more often," he added, poking his friend on the chest-plate.

"Do you think the Decepticons take any day offs?" Red Alert asked.

Inferno had to admit that he had nothing to say to that. How was he supposed to know how the Decepticons spent their days when they weren't busy trying to conquer the universe?

"My point exactly," Red Alert said, understanding what Inferno was thinking. "Now, if you'll excuse me, I have to see to a medical check-up."

And with that, Red Alert started walking again towards the repair-bay. Inferno just watched his friend go, unable to understand how a mech could be all business and no relaxation.

Honestly, what was Red Alert's creator thinking anyway?

Sighing, Inferno turned on his heel and got ready to leave in the opposite direction, when he noticed something on the floor, right next to his feet.

It was Red Alert's medical record.

"Oh man…" Inferno picked up the datapad at once. "Hey Red! Ya dropped yer--"

At the next moment, the fire-truck felt like his jaw would drop on the floor.

It was strange how the world seemed to work at times. In fact, if Inferno hadn't known any better, he would have sworn that Primus was in a very weird mood today. For Inferno managed to see from the corner of his optic that the datapad was on, probably by mistake as it hit the floor. Not only that, but, when he made a motion to turn off the datapad, Inferno caught a glimpse of some of the information recorded there.

Information like…

"Blast it, Inferno! What do you think you're doing?!" Red Alert exclaimed indignantly, seeing Inferno with the datapad. Before the fire-truck could react, the red and white Lamborghini had snatched back his file. "That's personal information you're reading!"

"I didn't do it on purpose!" Inferno said defensively. Even so, his shock still proved a lot stronger, and he couldn't help but take a step back and regard Red Alert with an incredulous look in his optics. "Red? Is it true?"

Red Alert gasped and held the datapad even closer to himself. "You--?"

Inferno nodded slowly, unable to say anything else except repeat his question like a broken record.

"Is it true?"

Red Alert now realised that there was no way out of this situation. He sighed and bowed his head.

"Yes."

Inferno blinked. "Ye're kidding me."

"No, I'm not."

"But it's impossible!" Inferno practically cried.

Red Alert pinched the bridge of his nose in frustration. "Apparently, it's not. And, please, shout a bit louder, I don't think they've heard you on Cybertron yet."

"But--!"

"Argh!" Officially exasperated, Red Alert dragged Inferno to their room – which was nearby, thankfully.

"Sit," he commanded, pushing Inferno inside.

Inferno complied, while Red Alert stopped momentarily on the threshold to look left and right.

"Red--"

"Quiet!" Red Alert hissed.

Inferno shut his mouth at once. As for Red Alert, he checked the corridor again, making sure in this way that no one would overhear him and Inferno. He tuned up his sensors to the maximum, and he was quite relieved when he didn't detect anyone else in the dorms area.

Even so, Red Alert locked the door behind him as he entered the room. He didn't want any uncalled for interruptions during his talk with Inferno, after all.

"All right," he said, finally facing the fire truck. "Start asking. And keep your tone low; you've done enough damage already."

Inferno could only shake his head at the paranoia of it all, but he was also aware that he shouldn't complain. He wanted some answers, and he would only get them as long as he indulged Red Alert.

"So," Inferno started, his voice barely a whisper, "Ya really share the same creator?"

Red Alert crossed his arms and sat next to Inferno. "Yes and no."

Inferno made a frowning expression. "What's that supposed to mean?"

Red Alert sighed. "Highsign and Mayday, the ones that raised me, wanted a sparkling. _He_ built the protoform for them, and then they placed my spark inside it. As the years went by, he came on occasion to our house to upgrade my body, until I was finally an adult."

"But why that sort of arrangement?" Inferno asked, not really understanding.

"Highsign and Mayday's main function was to perform security duties, not create sparklings," Red Alert answered with a shrug. "Even so, they wanted a mech to consider as offspring and thus raise them like one."

"So they turned to him for a solution," Inferno concluded.

"Yes. He was young then, already a brilliant engineer, and in need of the credits. So, he accepted the job."

"Ya mean… he actually had the spark to give two complete strangers something that he had probably been building with love and care fer Primus knows how long?" Inferno asked.

"I was well looked after, if that's your concern," Red Alert said. "Both Highsign and Mayday loved me very much."

"I don't doubt it," Inferno said truthfully. "Still… it must have been difficult fer him."

Red Alert's optics dimmed slightly in thought. "If it was, he never showed it. But it's true that his tone was always reassuring and gentle whenever he upgraded my body." He shook his head. "Nevertheless, as far as I'm concerned, Highsign and Mayday were my parents."

"I guess…" Inferno mused. "But why would ya keep such a thing a secret?"

Red Alert actually snorted. "To avoid reactions like the one you had five minutes ago."

"But Ratchet knows," Inferno pointed out.

"It couldn't be helped; I had to give him an accurate medical history," Red Alert explained. "And you have to admit that he proved quite discreet about my past."

"So… ya didn't tell anyone else?" the fire truck asked.

"You're the first one to know."

Inferno gave Red Alert a disapproving look; a look that Red Alert knew perfectly well what it meant.

"Be realistic, Inferno. We have nothing in common but our creator. I couldn't just declare upon our first meeting: 'Hey, you know what? I'm your older sibling!'"

"Why not?" Inferno asked. "What would be so terrible about that?"

"I could lose my credibility as a security chief!" Red Alert said, regarding Inferno as though his friend had just gone insane.

"But you would also make the first step to a promising bonding!" Inferno insisted. "You're already family. Why can't you be friends too?"

"I'd rather team up with Starscream again than that!" Red Alert replied indignantly, though his tone softened at the next moment. "And, anyway… the best friend position has already been filled."

"So that's it? Ya'll just continue keeping it a secret?" Inferno asked in disbelief.

"Yes," Red Alert answered without hesitation. At the next moment, he stood up, pointing his finger warningly at his friend. "And _you_ had better be quiet about this too. Trust me; I'll _know_ if you say anything to anyone. Got it?"

"Fine, fine, my lip components are sealed," Inferno said, raising his hands in a gesture of peace. He paused for a moment, contemplating matters. "But I still think ya should--"

"NO!"

Inferno winced. "It was just an option," he mumbled timidly.

"Noted," Red Alert said dryly. "Well, enjoy your day off, Inferno. I have a medical check-up to attend to."

Inferno nodded his acknowledgement. After all, he could clearly see that Red Alert was becoming impatient, and the fire truck didn't want his friend to blow a fuse or anything. Even so, there was also something that puzzled him about all this.

"Um… Red?"

Red Alert stopped on the threshold and faced Inferno. "Yes?"

"Did ya ever stop to think that maybe… yer secret isn't that much of a secret?"

That was a question that Red Alert certainly didn't expect, because his expression became quite baffled. "What do you mean?"

Inferno actually caught himself hesitating for a moment. "Well… ya were an Autobot officer long before yer creator died."

"Yes. What of it?" Red Alert asked.

"Lemme put it this way. If ya were yer creator, and ya were aware that ya would become one with the Matrix someday, what would ya do?"

"Make sure that any of my creations would be left in good… hands…" Red Alert's voice died in his vocaliser as realisation caught up with him. "Oh no…"

"Oh yeah…" was all that Inferno said, his tone sympathetic.

Red Alert just groaned and left, shaking his head.

----------------

Early the next day, the common room was filled with Autobots that were getting an energon boost before taking up their duties. The sound of idle chattering rang through the air as everyone was engaged in conversation with the Autobot next to them. In fact, most of the Autobots were so engrossed in their conversation that they hardly paid attention to what was going on around them.

Sideswipe _wasn't _one of those Autobots.

"Sunstreaker," he said, leaning close to his twin. "Call me paranoid, but Inferno is looking at us in a very odd way."

"Oh?" Sunstreaker said, mildly surprised. Deciding that he wanted to see for himself, the yellow Lamborghini looked subtly to his right.

Sure enough, Inferno was practically staring at him and Sideswipe from a table nearby. And Sunstreaker noticed just how badly the fire truck was trying to cover the fact that he _was _staring at the twins, even by pretending to be looking at his surroundings in general.

Sunstreaker knew that _that _could only mean one thing. He huffed under his breath.

"Great. He knows."

"Blast it," Sideswipe breathed out. "There goes our reputation, Bro."

**The End.**


End file.
